"Constitution-making in a post-conflict country is fraught with many risks and traps: how can we avoid or find creative solutions to them? In this useful book, scholars and practitioners reflect on the experience of two decades. Most importantly, Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making demonstrates the critical importance of the process itself in producing a constitution that provides a solid foundation for peace--a lesson anyone interested in technical assistance and peacekeeping should remember."
—Jean-Marie Guéhenno, U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations

Analyzing nineteen cases, Framing the State in Times of Transition offers the first in-depth, practical perspective on the implications of constitution-making procedure, and explores emerging international legal norms. Thirty researchers with a combination of direct constitution-making experience and academic expertise present examples of constitution making in the contexts of state building and governance reform across a broad range of cultures, political circumstances, and geographical regions.

The case studies focus equally on countries emerging from conflict and countries experiencing other types of transitions—a move from autocratic rule to democracy, for example—or periods of institutional crisis or major governance reform. Recognizing that there are no one-size-fits-all formulas or models, this volume illuminates the complexity of constitution making and the procedural options available to constitution makers as they build states and promote the rule of law.

Laurel E. Miller recently joined the RAND Corporation as a senior policy analyst. She has been an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University and a senior rule of law adviser at the United States Institute of Peace. She previously served in several positions at the U.S. Department of State and the National Security Council.

Louis Aucoin is an associate research professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a former senior rule of law adviser at the United States Institute of Peace. He has served as an adviser in constitution-making processes in Rwanda, East Timor, and Cambodia.